This book analyses common perceptions about drink-spiking, a pervasive fear for many and sometimes a troubling reality. Ideas about spiked drinks have shaped the way we think about drugs, alcohol, criminal law, risk, nightspots, and socializing for over one hundred and fifty years, since the rise of modern anaesthesia and synthetic 'pharma-ubiquity'. The book offers a wide-ranging look at the constantly shifting cultural and gender politics of 'psycho-chemical treachery'.It provides rich case histories, assesses evolving scientific knowledge, and analyses the influence of social forces as disparate as Temperance and the acid enthusiasts of the 1960s. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, the book will be of great interest to upper-level students and scholars of criminal law, forensic science, public health, and social movements.

Pamela Donovan is a US sociologist and criminologist. She holds PhD in Sociology from The Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA. She has taught courses in social theory, criminology, victimology, and social problems. Her previous works include No Way of Knowing: Crime, Urban Legends, and the Internet (2004).

“Drink Spiking and Predatory Drugging is an extremely well-researched, readable and provocative book. … this book will appeal to a wide range of academic audiences, as well as to non-academics interested in learning more about drug laws and crime stories. Above all else, readers will gain both sociological and historical insight into drug scares and the crime stories that have fuelled public fears and, ultimately, helped shape drug policy for well over a century.” (Karen G. Weiss, Medical History, 2017)